"Hiya" is a very common, informal, and friendly British greeting derived from a contraction of "Hi" and "How are you?". It is used across the UK, particularly in the North of England, to convey warmth, often in casual settings like shops or among acquaintances. It is favored as a less formal, cheerful alternative to "Hello".
Saying “hiya” is pretty much the same as saying “hi”. We've just always gone in more for hiya. Hi is a slight Americanism but it's quite entrenched now. I'll say hi in informal writing (text/email), but not usually verbally.
It's an informal greeting, often used among friends or acquaintances who share a comfortable rapport. Imagine bumping into an old friend at the local café; instead of a stiff 'hello,' you might say, 'Hiya! '—instantly setting a friendly tone for your conversation.
American slang. We don't say, how are you? No, I'm slang with David Burke. After books on American slang, we say, hiya, how you doing after your surgery?
The name of the letter H comes from the french name "hache" which was /atʃə/ in Old French , which middle english adapted as /aːtʃə/ and which became /eɪtʃ/ in modern english. The pronunciation "haitch" is just adding a [h] sound back to "aitch" because most letters start with their sound.
Oi is an expression similar to hey, something you would say to grab someone's attention. Depending on the context, it can also convey implications of surprise or urgency. Just to add on, oi is commonly spelt as oy in some regional dialects.
Verb. (UK, Ireland, idiomatic, vulgar, colloquial, dismissal) Go away. Why don't you just sod off and leave me alone? He was here a minute ago but now he's sodded off.
The 90/10 kissing rule, popularized by the movie Hitch, suggests that when initiating a kiss, a person should lean in 90% of the way and pause, waiting for their partner to close the remaining 10%, signaling their willingness to kiss and avoiding forcing the interaction. It's a technique for gauging consent, where the partner fiddling with their keys might signal yes, while putting keys in the door signals no, making the kiss a mutual, rather than rushed, moment.
What do British people say instead of "Oh my god"?
Popular British slang for "Oh my God!" includes Blimey!, Cor!, Good grief, Oh my giddy aunt, and Bloody hell, expressing surprise or shock, with older/regional terms like Gor blimey or Oh my days also used, though sometimes sounding dated.
🇬🇧 Want to sound like a local? Here are a few fun ways to say "OK" using #BritishSlang! 👍 * Hunky Dory * Sound as a pound * Sweet * Say no less * Aye * Alrighty * Canny * Sounds good to me!
Blimey. Interpretation: A way of expressing surprise, amazement, or even wonder. In American English, you'd probably hear a "wow" instead. In use: "Blimey, it's late!
Posh English is a British English accent that we call Received Pronunciation, or RP for short. This accent can also be referred to as Standard Southern British, the Queen's English, "proper" English, Cambridge English, or BBC English.
